Chapter 746: The Imperius Curse
Chapter 746: The Imperius Curse
Slughorn wanted to conceal what had transpired today and pretend nothing had happened, but that was obviously impossible.
In a sense, the effects of Amorentia and the Imperius Curse were not that different; they could both make a person obedient.
Amorentia might even be considered less risky since there was an antidote, and its use was not illegal.
However, as a professor at Hogwarts, if Slughorn were to be manipulated into doing something, one could only imagine the potential consequences.
Therefore, after receiving Professor McGonagall's message, Dumbledore rushed back to the school that very day.
Meanwhile, Kyle and Kanna were once again summoned to the infirmary.
As they arrived in the courtyard, they bumped into Harry and Ron, who had just come down from the building.
"What a coincidence," Harry said. "Dumbledore called you too?"
"It's obvious, isn't it?" replied Kyle.
"So, the headmaster is finally going to punish Romilda Vane?" Ron exclaimed excitedly, waving his arms. "I went to see her today, and instead of apologizing, she accused me of stealing food!"
Angrily, Ron waved his arms and pulled a branch from the bushes next to the courtyard, then threw it back as if they were all Romilda Vane.
Kyle glanced at him, thinking that what she said wasn't entirely wrong. After all, she had initially targeted Harry, and Ron had ruined her plan. Kyle felt that something was a bit odd...
Soon, the group arrived at the infirmary.
The atmosphere was gloomy, with Dumbledore standing silently, his face expressionless.
Professor McGonagall and Snape were also present, assisting Madam Pomfrey in examining Professor Rosmerta, who lay on a bed.
Like the two people earlier that day, Professor Rosmerta was also unconscious, and Kyle wondered if it was due to the Stunning Spell.
Harry and Ron were startled by the scene before them, and seeing that no one was speaking, they closed their mouths and stood quietly to the side.
Soon, the drunken Slughorn arrived as well.
"Albus..." His voice drifted in from the doorway before he even entered. "I've already said it was Rosmerta who gave me the Amorentia. If you have any questions, why don't you just ask her directly..."
As Slughorn walked in, he suddenly froze. He, too, saw Professor Rosmerta lying on the bed and was momentarily taken aback.
"What... what is going on here?" he blurted out. "She must know she can't escape, so she's pretending..."
"So, you're implying that she cast the Imperius Curse on herself to avoid punishment?" Snape stood up, drawing out his words. "Forgive me for being blunt, but the consequences of that are far more severe than using Amorentia."
"Wh-what are you talking about?" Slughorn shivered, sobering up considerably. "The Imperius Curse?"
"Yes," Snape affirmed. "And according to our previous observations, she has been under someone's control for at least three months."
"Three months... What is the meaning of this?" Slughorn asked, perplexed.
"That is precisely what we aim to find out."
Dumbledore turned, his voice calm as he addressed Ron. "Oh, Mr. Weasley, I just noticed you're here as well."
"Yes, yes," Ron muttered.
"Good," Dumbledore said, looking at him. "Could you tell me what happened this morning? Please be as detailed as possible and leave nothing out."
"Well..." Ron began, carefully recalling the events of that morning. "When I was picking up the gifts, I accidentally mixed up a box from under Harry's bed.
"There was a chocolate cauldron inside, intended for Harry from Romilda Vane, but I thought it was for me... No, I mean, I thought it was a gift from Harry, so I opened it and took a bite.
"Then I found out it had Amorentia in it... and Harry brought me here, that horrible Romilda Vane!"
"No, Ron," Harry interjected. "First, we went to Professor Slughorn's office."
"Oh, right, that's how it was."
...
Ron recounted the events disjointedly, with Harry filling in the gaps he missed.
Dumbledore listened intently until they finished, then nodded slightly and turned to Kyle and Kanna.
"Is that what happened? You met on the eighth floor?"
"Yes," Kyle confirmed. "We were on our way to find a quiet place to brew a potion."
"Why not go to the potion classroom in the basement for that?" Snape suddenly asked, narrowing his eyes and glaring at Kyle.
"There's a magical room there that's far better than the gloomy basement environment," Kyle shrugged. "Dumbledore should know about it."
Kyle wasn't sure, but he felt like Snape's expression had turned even grimmer.
"Indeed," Dumbledore interjected at the right moment. "It's quite remarkable. I dare say ninety percent of the students don't know about that place, yet you managed to find it."
Snape seemed to accept this explanation and stepped back, remaining silent.
"Well, it seems the matter is quite clear now, isn't it?" Dumbledore said. "Mr. Weasley's situation was merely a misunderstanding and had nothing to do with Professor Rosmerta. If anything, it was just a coincidence that he experienced the same thing as Horace at the same time."
"You may return to your activities now," Dumbledore said with a smile. "The kitchen is serving pepper steak today, and you certainly don't want to miss out on that.
With no choice, Kyle could only shrug at Kanna and retreat back into the room. However, Dumbledore now turned his attention to Slughorn.
"Horace, can you tell us now?"
"What do you want to know?" Slughorn sat on the nearest bed and asked, "First, I must say that I didn't know she was under the Imperius Curse, nor was I aware of what she intended to do to me."
"I believe the one manipulating her is not Ms. Rosmerta herself, but the person behind her," Dumbledore said, "Have you noticed anything different about her lately?"
"Different?" Slughorn pondered for a moment, "I haven't paid much attention, but if I had to say, it would be that she's been overly enthusiastic."
"Enthusiastic?"
"Yes." Slughorn said, "I recall it was the day before Christmas, when I needed to make a quick purchase because I didn't have enough drinks prepared.
"Even though the store was busy, Rosmerta kept talking to me... She had never been so enthusiastic before.
"But I didn't think much of it, assuming she was just interested in the ball I was hosting. After all, quite a few people attended that day, even the Minister of Magic, so it was normal for her to be curious, right?"
"Cornelius Fudge?" Dumbledore furrowed his brows, "I don't recall him looking for me on Christmas day."
"Not you, he was looking for Kyle. I had previously announced that Kyle would be attending the ball," Slughorn said, "But later, there was a change of plans, and upon learning that Kyle didn't attend the ball, he left quickly."
As everyone's gazes fell on him, Kyle spread his hands, indicating that he knew nothing about it.
He had been at Nick's estate at the time and had no idea that Fudge had come to the school looking for him.
However, Dumbledore didn't seem concerned.
"So, what did you and Ms. Rosmerta talk about?"
"Not much." Slughorn thought for a moment, "Just about the attendees of the ball... Oh, right, before I left, she also asked me what gift I was preparing for you and strongly recommended the store's vintage mead."
"But I recall your gift to me was a cranberry rum," Dumbledore said.
"That's right, it was brought by the Minister, also vintage." Slughorn said, "So I told her that I already had a gift prepared, but I could buy that bottle of mead for myself."
"Was it the one in your office?" Professor McGonagall asked.
She remembered that Harry had mentioned that besides steak and crystallized honey in Slughorn's office, there was also half a glass of mead.
"No, it wasn't. The vintage mead Rosmerta mentioned had been broken when she was about to give it to me," Slughorn said, "I regretted it for a long time after that."
"That is indeed a pity." Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.
But no one in the room was a fool; they all understood the implication of his words.
It seemed that someone had intended for Slughorn to give that bottle of mead to Dumbledore as a Christmas gift.
And that bottle was likely laced with something, so when they learned that Slughorn had already prepared a gift, they had to find a way to destroy it to avoid premature exposure.
Snape let out a cold laugh beside him.
Slughorn's face turned even redder, but fortunately, he had drunk quite a bit, so no one else noticed.
"And what happened after that?" Dumbledore continued, unfazed, "What about the Love Potion?"
"That happened yesterday." Slughorn glanced at the bed not far away, "I went to ask her as usual if there was any new vintage mead.
Of course, there wasn't, and just as I was about to leave, she suddenly gave me a portion of candied pineapple, saying it was a new dessert.
"Because I had mentioned before that my favorite combination was mead with candied pineapple, I thought she had taken my suggestion."
After that, there was a long silence.
Dumbledore lowered his head, deep in thought.
Snape twitched his lips and finally couldn't help but ask, "Didn't you notice that the color of that candied fruit was off?"
"You don't understand, Severus." Slughorn stammered, "Because everyone's method of making it is different, the color of the candied fruit can vary, which is normal."
Snape didn't know what to say, so he could only coldly laugh again and turn his head away.
At some point, the sky outside gradually darkened, and rain began to fall, tapping on the windows with a pattering sound.
"Albus, do you know who did this?" Professor McGonagall stepped forward and asked.
"I will find him." Dumbledore said softly, turning his gaze back to Kyle, "The last time you went to the Three Broomsticks, did you notice anything unusual about Ms. Rosmerta?"
"She seemed normal, with no strange behavior... at least that's what I observed." Kyle said, "Or you can ask others, like Ron, who prefers to stare at Ms. Rosmerta instead of his own drink."
Unless they were instructed to do something special, like delivering the candied honey to Slughorn this time, those under the Imperius Curse appeared no different from usual.
This was why, more than a decade ago, so many Death Eaters had chosen to use being under the Imperius Curse as an excuse to escape the Ministry's scrutiny. As long as they took some measures, even an Auror couldn't tell the difference.
"Then... well..."
For a moment, silence fell in the room once more.
The rain grew heavier, and out of concern that students might see and cause unnecessary trouble, Madam Rosmerta was sent to St. Mungo's.
Snape also left, and though Dumbledore wanted to stop him, he turned a deaf ear and vanished down the corridor not far from them.
"Didn't he hear you just now?" Kyle asked, looking in the direction Snape had disappeared.
It was indeed rare to see Snape going against the Headmaster.
"No, he heard," Dumbledore said with a complicated expression. "It's just that we have some disagreements on certain matters. If not for the severity of this situation, he wouldn't even appear in my presence..."
"Disagreements?" Kyle mumbled softly, but upon noticing Dumbledore's increasingly complex expression, he wisely refrained from asking further.
The two returned to the Headmaster's office.
Dumbledore waved his hand, and a plate of steaming pork chops, several slices of toast, and a bowl of corn chowder appeared on the table, clearly prepared for Kyle.
Kyle didn't stand on ceremony and immediately sat down to eat a bite of the pork chop before asking, "So, the one who used the Imperius Curse on Madam Rosmerta was Malfoy, right?"
"I believe so," Dumbledore said, "And only a student of Hogwarts could have made the shop owners lower their guard."
"So, this time, his target was you?"
"I'm glad he did that," Dumbledore said, seemingly unbothered by the idea of someone plotting against him.
"However, Mr. Malfoy seems to have made one mistake," he continued. "Horace wouldn't easily part with a bottle of vintage mead, and the cranberry rum he gave me was only because he didn't like it himself."
"Indeed." Kyle nodded and continued eating the pork chop while pondering over all that had happened.
From the available information, it was clear that Malfoy had initially intended to target Dumbledore. He used the Imperius Curse to control Madam Rosmerta, making her sell a special bottle of mead to Slughorn, who would then gift it to Dumbledore.
It must be said that his plan was well-crafted, and no one would have suspected him. However, there was one thing he hadn't anticipated—Slughorn had already prepared a gift in advance... the bottle of vintage cranberry rum from Fudge, which also happened to be the most suitable gift.
With his plan thwarted, Malfoy had to devise another approach, leading to the events of that morning.
"He probably wanted Horace to assassinate me within the castle," Dumbledore said calmly. "As a professor and my old colleague, Horace would have had plenty of opportunities to do so if he truly wished."
Kyle glanced at Dumbledore, not entirely agreeing with that statement.
Dumbledore had been mostly absent from the school lately, and it was difficult even to arrange a meeting with him, let alone kill him.
Perhaps there was a slight chance of success if the target were himself, Kyle.
Kyle narrowed his eyes, thinking that it might not be entirely impossible.
"Perhaps, in Mr. Malfoy's opinion, I'm much easier to deal with than you," Dumbledore suddenly said, bringing Kyle back to the present.
Dumbledore poured himself a cup of tea. "But I must say, he made a mistake."
"Making Slughorn drink the Love Potion within the school?" Kyle asked.
"No," Dumbledore shook his head. "He chose the wrong person.
"Though Horace isn't skilled in combat, he is a master of potions. The Love Potion may work temporarily, but it can't control him indefinitely, at most for an hour."
Dumbledore gave a relatively conservative estimate.
Kyle had no doubt about that.
"What do we do now?" he asked. "We can't just let him continue with his schemes."
Dumbledore didn't answer but instead turned to look at the paintings on the wall.
"So far, there haven't been any changes on that map," said a witch in one of the paintings. "We've been keeping an eye on it."
"It seems he doesn't plan to act immediately," Dumbledore said softly. "Has he not found another Vanishing Cabinet yet?"
"No, he has," Kyle said. "During the Christmas break, the house-elf who was helping out at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes saw Malfoy go to Knockturn Alley.
"I also dropped by on my way back from Nick's estate, and I saw it at Borgin and Burkes. It's identical to the one at school, in both size and pattern."
Dumbledore's eyes lit up.
"That's indeed good news," he said, standing up. "You always bring me unique surprises, but why did you wait so long to tell me about this?"
"Professor, don't you remember? I came to see you twice after the holidays," Kyle said slowly.
"That's true, but there were always emergencies," Dumbledore said, his expression a bit embarrassed as he quickly changed the subject. "Well, Kyle, you may leave now. I need to think carefully about this matter."
(End of Chapter)
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